Going Waysides
by SomebodyLost
Summary: When Sakura twisted time and space, the lives of those around her are inevitably changed. A collection of short stories about various characters in various scenarios from TaikoHawk's flashfic, "Going Sideways". Chapter Eight: Cerise.
1. Boy

_~ Naruto_ belongs to Masashi Kishimotroll - er, Kishimoto.

_~ Going Sideways_ is a fic by the awesome TaikoHawk. This is merely a fanfanfic for enjoyment. This may or may not fit in the original fic's universe, but I will try my best.

* * *

**Going Waysides/Slideways**

1: **Boy**

* * *

Small, childish, but rough, hands opened a neatly wrapped package with restrained excitement. Then, its owner's black brows furrowed.

Kunai.

Keeping an impassive face, the boy stoically bowed his head and murmured his gratitude to the giver. Another present was presented to him.

More kunai.

Additional packages revealed more or less the same things: kunai, shuriken, and sometimes a pack of senbon or two. And all of them say the same message:

_You are a ninja of the great Uchiha clan._

Which, with great irritation, Uchiha Itachi already _knew_. Do they really have to remind that to him every time? Even - _especially_ - on his birthday?

Amidst the sea of his black-haired relatives, Sakura bit back a laugh at the face the disgruntled Uchiha heir was expressing. It may mean certain death for enemies when they encounter this on an S-class nukenin Itachi, but it was cute to see it on his seven-year old face.

Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that, if given the chance, Itachi would hurl all the weapons towards those who gave them to him in the first place. But propriety and politeness obviously won, so he was stuck to brood and bear it.

The fox looked around and saw various subtle reactions from his clansmen. Most of them, particularly Uchiha Fugaku and the elders, obviously mistook their heir's irritation for quiet delight. Only a small number, including his mother, Mikoto, correctly deciphered his frustration.

Sakura hoped that her gift would cheer him up.

* * *

"Thank you for inviting me to the celebration, Uchiha-sama," Sakura inclined her furry head to the solemn Uchiha patriarch. Sakura refrained from saying _'gathering'_ instead of _'celebration'_; the birthday celebrant was all but forgotten in the midst of the ensuing clan politics.

Sakura felt a little bit out of place.

"Not at all, Sakura-sensei," Uchiha Fugaku replied, "after all, you are my son's sensei." He nodded his head stiffly, obviously miffed at being forced to make small talk with her, and that he particularly didn't care that he was redundant. "Please take this as a form of gratitude from the Uchiha clan for apprenticing our prodigious heir," he continued, although Sakura knew that he would rather have said heir apprenticed to other shinobi of more 'worthwhile' endeavors. She fought back a scowl.

"Please enjoy yourself." With that, the stubborn man left her to talk with the other guests. Sakura sighed in relief.

She looked around the lavishly decorated room. Uchiha clansmen and women were strewn all over, interspersed with the elite of some of the other clans. Minato was in a corner, trying (Sakura surmised with a small smile) to subtly get away from the other council members while keeping an eye on Naruto. The other children played with Naruto and Sasuke in an adjoining room, the silence seals preventing their laughter from reaching the main room.

Itachi was nowhere to be found.

So Sakura went outside towards the garden, the afternoon sun momentarily blinding her eyes, looking for her student. She found him conversing with another child, his curly hair sticking out in various angles. He was a few years older than Itachi, Sakura deduced. They noticed her presence and faced her.

"Itachi-kun!", Sakura chirped brightly, making her way towards them, "Happy birthday!"

A small smile graced Itachi's face for a moment. "Thank you, Sakura-shisou." Sakura supposed that he has heard that greeting a couple of times throughout the day, but most of them were said in an obligatory manner from his boring, stoic clansmen.

Itachi then gestured to the other child. "This is Shisui," the mentioned boy bowed his head towards her, and Sakura returned the gesture, "he's my best friend and cousin."

"Ah, so this was the friend that Itachi stated would always cover for him," Sakura nodded pleasantly. Shisui grinned at her, but looked at his cousin oddly. Itachi just shrugged in return.

"I still have to give your gift to you," the fox started, earning Itachi's sudden spark of interest, "but I can't give it to you here." She looked at Shisui with a sly grin. "So is it alright if I sneak him out now, until evening?"

Considering her fox-face, her grin might have come across as devious, but Shisui returned it. "Of course, Sakura-sensei", he turned towards his cousin, "but you better tell me all about it when you come back!"

"But Shisui-kun," Sakura called his attention, "please don't tell this to anyone." She winked at them. "This will be our secret."

At that, Itachi brightened a bit.

After a quick mention of thanks to Shisui, he made snuck his way out of the compound, his sensei trailing behind him.

* * *

Sakura, glancing at her periphery as she trotted alongside Itachi, amusedly noted that her student was obviously happy to be out of the compound. In his typical aloof demeanor, Itachi was bubbling in childish anticipation, but Sakura was well-versed in Uchiha language to notice this.

Itachi was already solemn when she met him, so Sakura wondered how Itachi was before undergoing the strict training regime imposed by his father. Was he ever like baby Sasuke, cooing happy baby sounds? Sakura gushed.

_He would've been sooooooo adorable!_

"Shisou," Itachi cut in her daydreams of chibi-Itachi, "where are we going?"

Sakura, deeming that the coast is clear, motioned for Itachi to follow her. She pushed chakra to her paws and jumped on a nearby vending machine, making her way to the nearest rooftop.

When Itachi landed beside her, she smiled at him. "This is my gift to you, Itachi-kun," the fox showed her side to him. "Climb up."

Itachi was taken by surprise that he gaped for a few seconds before his Uchiha bearing kicked in. Sakura was delighted with such minuscule reaction - her plan was going into effect.

Her student eyed her back with a forbidden sense of awe. After meeting her green eyes and getting the idea that she was serious, the seven-year old climbed on the red, furry back of his sensei, fighting the urge to giggle. So he settled for a smile.

"Don't fall off," Sakura warned. She could feel his giddiness radiating, even when his face tried to hide it. That made her delight grow, and she spread some chakra on her back to stick her passenger securely. Itachi noticed and stuck chakra to his lower body and hands.

Satisfied with the preparations, his sensei shook her head and braced herself for the upcoming jump. Itachi took a deep breath.

Sakura faced the nearest rooftop and took off.

Itachi clamped his mouth shut to stop a very un-Uchiha squeal. His traitorous mouth ended up choking on the rushing air.

Sakura, laughed, very amused with her student's attempts at propriety. She bounded over the roofs, taking care not to go into the populous areas, and made her way towards the Hokage mountain.

"Don't worry Itachi!", Sakura called over the wind, "I'll take care off you!"

Itachi felt his sensei adding more chakra to secure him.

"Just let go!"

Idly, the seven-year old mused. They were now in the off-skirts, his sensei taking the long way to the the mountain by traveling in the forest. The setting sun, peeking through the scattered leaves, bathed everything with a warm shade of orange and yellow. The wind whipped his hair, threatening to throw his hair tie off. Underneath his fingers, his sensei's fur rippled with the fascinating dance of citrus light and burgundy shadow.

It was… peaceful.

Itachi's eyes widened at this realization.

There was no clan behind him. No one to force him to act out his duties.

It was just him, his sensei, and the world.

And it _was _his birthday after all…

Itachi slowly released his sensei's fur from his clammy fingers. Encouraged by his sensei's laughter, he slowly stretched his arms and closed his eyes.

His mother, Shisui, and Sasuke were the only ones he felt at peace with. But even then, most of the time he always had to be wary, always on guard, for his family's safety.

When was the last time he ever felt like this? _Free?_

"Itachi!"

Itachi snapped his eyes open.

"I'm climbing up the mountain!", Sakura sang beneath him, "Hold on!"

The boy smiled and held on. As Sakura jumped on the nearest outcropping, Itachi, bounced by the sudden increase of height, suspending him mid-air a few inches away from his sensei's back, _laughed_.

* * *

"You should laugh more, Itachi," Sakura told suddenly spoke, after getting a breather. "It fits you."

They were on top of the Yondaime's stone head, quietly reveling on the beauty of the village being submerged with the setting sun.

"There's nothing wrong with it. So don't hold back," Sakura smiled at him. Itachi looked at her. He gathered his thoughts.

"Sakura-sensei, when we first met," Itachi started slowly, "you said that you trusted me," he looked at Sakura, the latter nodding for him to continue. "You said that you felt as if there's something about me that you can trust…"

Sakura tilted her head a bit to the side, wondering where her student is going with this. He continued on.

"I don't know, why shisou…" Itachi cut off, still trying to find the correct words. Sakura found it endearing.

"It may be because of this afternoon, but," Itachi held her emerald gaze, "I trust you."

A bit shocked, Sakura knew Uchiha Itachi doesn't trust anyone easily. Sure, he may have trusted her a bit when they met, more so when they became master and student, but for him to tell her this out loud is momentous, akin to her timeline's Naruto swearing off ramen.

Or her timeline's Itachi himself confessing that he loved her.

Sakura blushed, and promptly brushed those unnecessary thoughts off. But she felt that she could sum up her feelings in one sentence.

Sakura felt honored.

It was a significant realization in their lives, and Sakura felt, that with Itachi securely on her side, saving the future is one step closer.

Itachi bowed deeply. When he rose, he was smiling at her. It was… nice. The disappearing sun made his expression peaceful. She committed it to memory.

"Thank you, Sakura-shisou."

Sakura was happy that she managed to make Itachi happy with her gift, even if it was only for a while.

To forget all obligations, burdens, and expectations as shinobi and clan heir.

To just be a boy. To just be Itachi.

She smiled back.

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ I recommend listening to _"Whenever There is You"_ by Koop, _"Porcelain"_ by Moby, _"Nervous In The Light Of Dawn"_ by Leigh Nash, _"You Stopped Making Sense"_ by The Radio Dept., _"Field Below"_ by Regina Spektor, and _"Blue Skies"_ by Noah And The Whale while reading this fic.

~ Sakura's specs weren't really elaborated, but from various descriptions in various chapters, I suppose that she has the measurements of a regular red fox. And she has perfect chakra control, so she can carry large, heavy stuff. A seven-year old Itachi should be no sweat! But, for the sake of this fic, let's just say that she's larger than normal...

~ Yes, I'm totally imaginative with title. Bah. Can someone think of a better title then? Can't think which ones better - Waysides or Slideways. Bah.

~ At the part where Sakura tells Itachi-chan to let go, I ended up imagining him literally doing that, with Itachi consequently falling off. Hahaha.

~ Shisui wasn't really fleshed out in the series, and most authors portray him as loud and flirty, but in canon he was mostly silent. I'll try to portray him both ways to balance him, but meh, this is fanfiction! *shrugs*

~ Inner Sakura wasn't mentioned in _Going Sideways _so far, so I dunno what to do without her or her absence. Huh. I'll need to comb the fic again...

~ Now I will sleep. I dunno why I did this New Year's Day, in the wee hours of the morning... but I will address any wrongness that needs correcting later.

~ I need an editor/idea-giver/beta. As you can see, grammar is not my friend. So if you're interested in helping me, please PM me with links to your works.

* * *

Thank you for reading, but please do review!

Happy New Year's Day, guys!

~ Lost-chan


	2. Chocolate

**Going Waysides**

2: **Chocolate**

* * *

A small crunch echoed across the room, reaching a pair of pointy ears, each twitching to the tune of the following sounds of _munch_,_ munch_,_ munch_. A pair of emerald eyes watched, hypnotized, with bated breath, as nimble fingers appeared from behind an orange book, reaching towards a box of brown, sticky squares. Taking one, the fingers, lightly coated with the brown substance, quickly disappeared behind the book.

The box lay there open, tantalizingly, its contents' delicious smell wafting, _beckoning_, to the furry creature's sensitive nose and the fox all but stopped herself from pouncing on it.

Sakura unconsciously licked her lips.

This could be an opportunity to try and see Kakashi's face, but… but… but…

… the **chocolate**, damn it!

Sakura can safely say that she loves Kakashi, _both _Kakashis - the old one was a father-figure while this one was something akin to a brother. She loved him even as he put Naruto and Sasuke's training before her. He was her sensei, her teammate, her initial guidance out in the field, and she trusts him completely.

She can tolerate his quirks, his annoying, odd sense of humor, sometimes his penchant for porn and, begrudgingly, his chronic tardiness.

Heck, she even tolerated it when he was having hot, heavy sex while she was out in the cold, wet rain!

But this… this was beyond evil! This is pure **torture**!

Kakashi shifted a bit in his futon, perversely giggling about someone named Junko. Sakura glared holes at the offending book, but it quickly dissipated when the air breezed in from the open window, circulating the chocolate's scent around the room.

Sakura closed her eyes, imagining a bite of the chocolate going down her throat, and took a deep breath, taking in as much of the dessert's scent in. It could be called masochistic, but she'll take what she can get.

Chocolate was not her favorite food. Yes, she enjoyed it every now and then, but she never indulged in it when depressed or overjoyed. Sometimes she would take one if her friends gave her some, but she didn't go out of her way to seek for it.

But now, faced with the prospect of not being able to eat one just because of _what_ she is, well, it was just damn _depressing_.

Chocolate was more than food for her. It was comfort. It was for _before. _Her memories of _them_.

It stands for the past, in the carefree days, when she would buy blocks of cocoa, trying her best, the night before Valentine's Day, to make the best chocolate for Sasuke-kun, tasting only meager bits because she didn't want to ruin her diet. Upon rejection, Naruto would ask if he can have it, and she would immediately throw it on his face to shut him up.

It reminds her for the days when Lee would come, his megawatt smile brightening her day after a dull shift in the hospital, asking for a date, presenting a bouquet of flowers and a box of the heart-shaped desserts. She would decline the date politely, and when Lee leaves, spouting about how he will win her heart with his youth, she would pass around the box to her co-workers, getting grateful smiles and chuckles about the daily occurrence.

It was there when Ino would barge through her apartment, instantly ending her depressing bouts about Team Seven. Her best friend would declare it an impromptu girls' night out, and that she has no choice but to accept it, then starts raving about the latest gossip, chatting about how boys are stupid and how the latest fashion trends will make Sakura's forehead look smaller, munching chocolate as little as possible, while pushing the rest to Forehead-girl so that she'll get fatter than she already is and then Sakura would subsequently retort that Ino-pig would then be able to _hog_ all the men. They would laugh, wash their hands, and then paint each other's nails.

It would find her in random parts of the day, Naruto disturbing her and cheekily asking her if she left it at his door for him, his hand holding a box neatly wrapped, a card on top - obviously written with a feminine hand - filled with an encouraging note for Naruto to keep on pursuing his dream of being a Hokage. Sakura would always expand her senses to sense his admirer, and sure enough, she would be there, hiding somewhere close in the surroundings. Sakura would then encourage Naruto to do what the letter said, but affirm that no, she wasn't the one who gave it to him. Naruto would nevertheless offer her one, and an air of depression would immediately emanate from a corner, all because the idiot would rather let his teammate get the first taste. Sakura, fighting the urge to face palm, would decline and motivate Naruto to look for his admirer, usually by punching him towards Hinata's hiding place.

In other words, she took chocolate for granted, and now, it saw fit to punish her.

_You never know what you've got until it's gone_, Sakura thought morosely.

"Is there something wrong, Sakura?", Kakashi suddenly asked. A lone eye peeked behind his precious Icha Icha. "You've been staring at me for the last fifteen minutes."

A bit peeved that she was caught, Sakura looked away. "Nothing."

Kakashi raised a brow at her despondent voice. She looked at him and fixed her fox-face into something that hopefully resembles a reassuring grin.

"Nothing at all."

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ This prompt appeared when I was having my desserts. I immediately asked Taiko-chan if fox!Sakura can eat the food, and, well, the misery of not being able to eat those delectable, fattening snacks got to me. The horror! This was supposed to be funny or something, but the Chocolate demanded to be paid proper condolences. Bow, you fools!

~ Since WHEN did Kakashi have that Icha Icha book anyway?

~ I went with _Going Waysides_ because _'wayside' _means 'the edge of a road'. Since this is just a side fic, I think it fits perfectly.

~ This fic, unlike _Going Sideways_, will not be in chronological order. The time and event will vary from chapter to chapter. The timeframe established is somewhat… flexible, so don't expect me to tell you when the event exactly took place.

* * *

Thank you for your faves and comments. They fuel me with more passion to continue!

~ Lost-chan


	3. Saliva

**Going Waysides**

3:** Saliva**

* * *

A pair of women exited a clothing shop, relief etched on their faces as they had no doubt been buying new clothes for their family because of the Kyuubi attack. Compared to their troubled looks when they entered the store, the women now had a lighter mood, a slight spring in their steps as they walked away.

_As Ino said_, Sakura thought with a sigh,_ shopping is for the soul._

The women rounded a corner, leaving her line of sight. Sakura returned her gaze to the shop in front of her.

Emerald eyes glossed longingly at the mannequins wearing the latest fashion trends as they posed behind the glass. She was not fond about fashion as Ino was, but she still couldn't help the pang of sadness that went through her. The women reminded her of her own shopping sprees with her best friend.

Shaking off her negative thoughts, she stood up from the ground and hurried towards Kakashi's apartment, intent on beating the evening rush hour before dinnertime.

As she rounded a corner, her nose was assaulted by the scent of delicious, juicy meat being grilled. _Yakiniku_, her brain idly provided after being assaulted by memories of dinner parties hosted by the generous Akimichi clan. Unconsciously, her mouth watered.

A shadow was walking towards the open door, briefly blocking the lights of the restaurant as the it passed by, but it was enough to knock Sakura off her stupor. Suddenly embarrassed when she realized that she was gaping like an idiot, she took off, quite annoyed with the accumulated saliva in her mouth. Aggravated with her fox instincts fighting with her human sensibilities, she kept her mouth shut, trying to hold the liquid in before she could get rid of it properly, running off to a random direction.

Unfortunately, drops of the viscous liquid escaped. Sakura nearly gave up and spat the offending fluid on the ground like a normal dog when she caught sight of some foliage. She immediately went behind the bushes and spewed.

_I should've been used to this but,_ Sakura pawed some leaves down to wipe her mouth, _canine mouths are unsuitable for holding liquids, _she concluded darkly.

She exited the bushes, feeling a bit cleaner after conquering her mishap, happily distracted not to notice a pair of black eyes watching her thoughtfully.

* * *

"So what do you think of the fox?"

Two pair of eyes looked in surprise at the speaker, who usually did not speak first in their get-togethers as he always deemed it too troublesome to look for a starter topic. Not to mention that his topic was a bit serious for their gathering.

Nara Shikaku was in his usual pose, slouching lazily on the seat, his arms supporting his head from behind, but his eyes were focused attentively on the ceiling. His friends blinked, finally registering the idea that he did indeed initiated their talk, and started to eat.

"Isn't it obvious?" Inoichi raised an eyebrow at his friend's seriousness, a clump of rice held between his chopsticks, "I'm glad that it's gone."

"Yeah, and weren't you complaining for weeks how the Kyuubi made your work more troublesome?", Chōza wryly pointed out before he proceeded to stuff his mouth with pieces of the grilled meat.

"No, the other one," Shikaku raised his head to look at his longtime colleagues, and seeing their confused faces, recounted what he saw about the atypical fox when he arrived at the restaurant.

He was dragging his ass towards the restaurant - his mind sifting how his wife was becoming more troublesome with his son - when he caught sight of the fox. It had its mouth open, staring, green eyes glittering, and its posture attentively frozen.

It was like a man having found an oasis in the middle of an unforgiving desert, but afraid to makes moves towards it as it might be a mirage.

When he was near enough to notice bits of spittle dripping off its mouth, the creature shook itself and sped away. He idly recalled getting info that was passed around that Kakashi was training a new summon, but what was it doing over here? Without its contractor and not back to its home den?

It was the first time he saw the animal, but it was just plain suspicious that a fox would appear right after the Kyuubi's attack. The other shinobi told him that it was following the Yondaime around days after the attack, so the assumption that the fox was somewhat related to the Kyuubi is high, and the Hokage knows about it.

He was curious, and after a quick deliberation of the whole thing being troublesome, tracked the canine.

He followed from a distance, quite aware that, strange as the fox was, it was still a fox, therefore it had superior senses, although it was occupied with something to notice him. It made its way out of the shopping district and on to a nearby park, and catching sight of the first bush it saw, immediately sped into it.

Nara Shikaku was very surprised when he found out that the weird fox ran off and went through the trouble just to spew the drool from behind the bushes, as if the thought of spitting out into the streets was mortifying.

But it was a fox. It could be excused for not knowing proper human decorum, and he knows that its pack would've taught it some of the major human customs so that it would know how to deal with humans.

And Kakashi was a pragmatic person; he would only work with a battle-ready summon, which means that he wouldn't teach a fox manners as he would most likely have expected that the pack had already done that.

But what that fox did… it was so _minor_, not the thing a pack would be expected to teach to its cubs, yet at the same time it was so significant, as the fox behaved like it was in social gathering, as any proper… _human_… with proper manners would do.

The canine also did it without anyone else seeing it, and it baffled Shikaku why it had to do that social obligation…

… but then again, it _was_ a new summon, and nobody else so far (at least, to his knowledge) had foxes as summons, so maybe Kakashi is the first ever fox summoner and it fell upon him to teach the foxes manners?

As the fox exited the bushes, its gait noticeably more content, Shukaku can only think of one word that can describe the whole event: _troublesome_.

Inoichi and Chōza had thoughtful looks as they processed the story about the troublesome fox.

"Well," Chōza started slowly after a contemplative silence, absently chewing with a piece of yakiniku, "Hokage-sama obviously knows something. And Kakashi is in his trusted circle." He looked at his two friends, smiling a bit, "I say we put our faith in them."

Inoichi nodded his affirmation. "I'll keep my ears and eyes out."

Shikaku nodded back, straightened his spine and muttered his own thanks for the meal.

He was glad that he had his friends to help him through thick and thin. As he ate lethargically, idly noting that Inoichi was telling Chōza to cook more meat since he ate most of them, his mind went to the fox, sifting information about it and why the Yondaime was seen around it first, not Kakashi.

It was definitely troublesome, and although he had faith in the Hokage, he didn't want another troublesome event happening soon right after the Kyuubi attack. Heck, he didn't want any troublesome events happening at all, but there was something about the fox that is certainly connected to the attack.

A sizzle from the grill interrupted his thoughts as Chōza laid the raw meat to cook. Shikaku looked at their faces; weary from all the troublesome work, but obviously happy and content with their lives.

Shikaku let his mouth form a small smile.

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ Damn it, Kishimotroll killed Itachi, then Shikaku, then Neji?! (╯°□°）╯ ┻━┻

~ I noticed that I write _Going Waysides_ quite differently from the prompts thing; I write the chapter first, then settle for a word/prompt that best describes the chapter or I settle for the word/prompt that holds the most prominence.

~ I know that in some countries, especially the developed ones, people frown upon those who casually spit everywhere. Gross.

I remember that one time when a spit landed on me…

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU… (╯°□°）╯ ┻━┻

~ It's a bit sad that this fanfanfic is my most-followed fic, but meh, I'll take what I can get! But a little propaganda is in order, I think…

… so please read my other fic, _Loops_!

* * *

Please don't forget to review! Thanks for sticking. :)

~ Lost-chan


	4. Shatter

**Going Waysides**

4: **Shatter**

* * *

Soft, long, red hair swayed around a dancing woman in the middle of a field of flowers. Her body was graceful, strength and femininity all punctuated in every motion, listening to a lullaby only she could hear.

He didn't know how long he was watching, but he felt that he could watch her forever, even if he wanted to take her in his arms and waltz her around himself.

After what seemed like an eternity, teal blue eyes noticed him. She smiled softly and beckoned him to come closer.

When his foot made contact with the soft earth, the grass cracked.

Minato was startled when the cracks expanded, reaching the woman, _Kushina_, and continued on, beyond the picturesque field. His eyes widened when the cracks traveled _up_ to the sky. Soon, everywhere he looked, cracks covered the world.

He tentatively turned back to look at the woman, who just looked back, seemingly unaware of his distress.

"Kushina!", Minato called out, a deep-seated fear of… of _something… _riding on his veins. "Don't move! I'm going to get you!", he fumbled around his clothing for his special kunai, adamant not to make another step, lest the world shatter.

_A ridiculous notion_, the rational part of his brain piped up, _this should be impossible…_

A sound, akin to shards of glass being stepped on, cut him from his thoughts. He shot his head up, horrified to see his wife walking leisurely towards him. The ground, _the world_, fractured further with every step.

"Kushina, please, just let me save you!" he pleaded, still unwilling to move from his spot. He had no three-pronged kunai on his person.

"Minato." She was in front of him, smiling a serene smile that only a seldom few saw of the Bloody Habanero, and caressed his cheek. "It will be alright."

_No, it will not_, Minato wanted to say, _because… because…_

Realization dawned. He... _remembered_.

"You're dead," Minato uttered quietly, helplessly.

The ground instantly shattered beneath their feet, the rest of the world falling apart, revealing a blank, white void, but Minato ignored it all, keeping his eyes on Kushina, shooting his hand to her arm instinctively to save his wife, because he wants, _needs_, to save her, even in his dreams, because he can never, ever see her agai -

"It will be alright, Minato," Kushina repeated, smiling reassuringly, her flaming red hair dancing wildly as they fell into the white void, fragments of the world falling around them.

Before he could answer, Kushina leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

Minato woke up.

He frantically looked around his office for something, _anything_, of Kushina's hide or hair, but _remembered_, again, with a large stab of depression, that she was _gone._

Tears swelled in his eyes and he shakily wiped them off, stripping some of the sensitive documents plastered on his face, before being interrupted by a small cry from the crib located on the corner of the room.

_Naruto_, he realized, and flashed to the crib, picking his son to soothe him. Minato's blue eyes fell on the other occupant of the crib.

"Shh, Naruto," he softly crooned to his son, all the while studying the fox's red fur in the moonlight.

"It's going to be alright."

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ I'm well aware of the _'grass' _not being _'glass'. _I love puns.

~ According to _Inception_, people falling would wake up. Well, _Naruto _repeatedly screws up physics, so why not dreams, too?

~ I noticed that this fic is a perfect way to exercise my writing skillz in preparation for my upcoming lengthier fics.

~ I'm betting that Kishimotroll would make Naruto deliver Trollbito a massive ounce of therapy-no-jutsu, giving him a heel-turn-face, then make him turn on Madara and use the Rinnegan to revive everyone who died on the battlefield. Then, because of his massive guilt that everyone was put through hell just because he got pansy, he will also strain his chakra, alongside the Juubi's, to even resurrect those affected by Edo Tensei.

Yeah. (-_-)

Then he would die because he overstrained his chakra, and everybody else would die because Madara somehow managed to get back up and take control of the Juubi before its reserves get used up, and he would flatten everyone while they were celebrating.

Just to troll with us.

CURSES, I DEMAND AN ITACHI-GAIDEN, KISHIMOTROLL!

~ I also have work now, so updates would be more sporadic and few. Damn, I have to work on plotbunnies too!

* * *

Thank you all for your support! :3

~ Lost-chan


	5. Chase

**Going Waysides**

5: **Chase**

* * *

A red blur zipped through the forest. Various colors of mottled brown, black, and white followed soon after.

Alas, an unfortunate clump of _something_ - Sakura didn't know, she was busy running for her life - was minding its own business on the ground, hidden from the fox's point of view.

The fox ran into the porcupine, making her slip spectacularly.

Picking herself up, she swiftly yanked every cursed needle that sunk into her. Part of her was in the moment, her medic side healing every puncture, while another part was itching to skin the bloody porcupine bald. Another part was admonishing herself for not being aware of her surroundings and to stop blaming the poor porcupine.

Her ramblings were cut off as her ears picked up the sounds of multiple footfalls fast approaching. _Damn!_

_This wasn't supposed to happen!_, she cried desperately. She gathered chakra at her paws and bounded away, chaotically disrupting the earth in hopes of throwing her pursuers off.

She landed on a branch, and took off, opting to tree-hop for the rest of the way back to Konoha. Yelps of surprise and chaos from behind made their way to her ears, and Sakura smiled, satisfied.

It was hardly her first solo mission, but for someone who held the highest scores in the academy in terms of brain power, someone who was considered one of the smartest in the Rookie Nine…

… well, that porcupine would probably say that she was an idiot.

She finally procured Minato's hard-earned trust to give her a solo mission, and she was more than happy to do a good job. She was to spy on the neighboring countries from the border and report back. Simple.

She could've just stayed put in her spot as she watched some suspicious Kumo-nin lurking on the Land of Fire's borders, but _no_, her traitorous brain just _had _to think that mingling with the local wild foxes was a good idea to get a better view. It wasn't included in the mission directives to leave the border - in fact, Minato advised her not to - but she really just _had _to strain the boundary's limit.

_A moot point_, Sakura scowled in recollection, landing on the ground when the trees ran out, _since the view I had turned out to be just __**fine**__._ She paused for a breather and gathered her thoughts about what happened a few minutes earlier.

For the life of her, she couldn't remember why she forgot the reason why she shouldn't have joined the pack at that particular season. Especially when she was just enjoying the season itself before spotting the Kumo-nin.

It was Spring. It was the beginning and renewal of plant life. Sakura, on the way to the border, openly admired the blossoming fauna and even paused at her namesakes scattered all over the Land of Fire.

Sakura's mind snapped back to the present when she heard her pursuers' eager yelps when they caught her scent. She quickly ran off.

_Screw the mission!_

If she had human arms, she would've been able to throw them in the air in exasperation. Her loyal, kunoichi side was scandalized at her thoughts.

The Kumo-nin were already retreating back to their homestead when she found an opportunity to get closer. She landed amidst the pack, but seeing that it was a wasted venture since the foreign nin already left her line of sight, she tried to retreat. But the surrounding foxes immediately rounded on her.

Sakura was instantly on guard. This never happened. Perhaps it was because Kakashi was always nearby before?

They all stared and sniffed at her before the leader spoke. Well, barked.

_"Newcomer_," his dog-voice demanding respect as he padded his way towards her, _"where is your mate?" _For some reason, he sounded giddy.

_"M-mate?!"_, Sakura squeaked, caught off-guard by the abrupt question.

_"You have none?"_, he yelped happily. _Too happily_, Sakura thought to herself.

She looked around, trying to find an exit, and saw the other faces of the male foxes. Some instinct translated their expressions as being the equivalent of grins, telling her that they were also _happy_ with this bit of news. To her chagrin, images of Lee professing his love to her came to the forefront. She shook her head, wishing for some brain-bleach.

And froze.

Spring was also the season of _**love**__. _

Sakura snorted at the Ino-esque thought.

And hightailed the hell out of there.

Only to find herself in amidst another pack. And another. And another.

After running and dodging very happy foxes who were quite sure that she was _"just being playfully feisty and only the best male will tame her and mate with her"_, she found out, with large amounts of irritation, that that particular place near the border was a breeding ground.

Everywhere she looked, foxes were doing _it_. She supposed that with all the _celebration_ happening around them, the remaining foxes were pretty justified with also wanting to get some action.

Then she realized that every female was already taken.

She knew that canines take turns with partners and all, but even with a fox body, even when she would no longer be able to experience sex as a human, she had absolutely no_ freakin'_ inclination to lose her chastity.

Even if her fox-body is screaming for her to _**get laid right now**_.

Then with a sharp twinge of horror, Sakura belatedly realized that whoever manages to catch her would most probably _force_ himself on her, with the male most likely thinking it to be a natural process. But she would make sure that that would _never_ happen, fox body or not.

So, with renewed resolve, she gathered chakra at her paws and took off with a high jump towards the trees. Sadly, the foxes' normal flight response was overtaken by their awe and sudden need_ "to tame the exotic female"_ and took her departure as a challenge.

_Is this the way Sasuke-kun felt when he was being chased by his fangirls?_, she thought with some sympathy. _I'm sorry for the troubles, Sasuke-kun._

Suddenly, she was reminded of the day she sought out Itachi; at the time, she only had eyes for the six-year old, but from her vantage point, she can see from her periphery that some girls were already looking at him discreetly back then. Sakura choked back a laugh at the thought of the budding fangirls.

Now feeling a bit more light-hearted as she ran, she idly wondered, _How will Itachi fare against the horrors known as fangirls?_

Back in her time, when the truth of the massacre came up, she read all of his files in an effort to get to know his character better. When Itachi and her team met during their mission to retrieve the Kazekage, Sakura never got the opportunity to look at him directly due to fear of his Sharingan, but when she saw his pictures, Sakura got the feeling that she would never get over her crush on him if he hadn't left.

_He's definitely handsome_, Sakura snickered to herself. To her displeasure, the long-forgotten fangirl part of her mind dreamily nodded as it resurfaced.

Sharp barks from behind helped her squash the ensuing dangerous thoughts. Sakura panted, tearing through the foliage at breakneck speed. She tried to ignore the cacophonous unity of the dirty, _horny_, dogs.

_"Please have my puppies!"_

Her pursuers continued to chase her with dogged determination - pun unintended.

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ According to animal experts/lovers, the way Dug speaks in _Up_ is correct. You know, in not-so-eloquent sentences? Anyhoo, summons will be able to speak more eloquently since they're around humans more often.

~ I apologize if any animal-lover got weirded out. Animal interactions with foxes are impossible for me, so settled for my past experiences with dogs...

... which was mostly tormenting the puppies...

... by putting them on high places...

... and leaving them. :|

What? They ended up fine anyway. *oblivious to the sharpening of pitchforks*

~ Kishimotroll is really fond of ass-pulls; I mean, Hinata's going Super Saiyan now, so what else Kishimotroll?

* * *

Not my best chapter, but meh. Thanks for reading!

~ Lost-chan


	6. Crush

~ LOOK! I made the cover art for this fic (just get rid of the spaces): somebodylost .deviantart art/Going-Waysides-348641508

* * *

**Going Waysides**

6:** Crush**

* * *

It was supposed to be an ordinary day - a day where there were no missions to take him out of the village, where he would go on his uneventful life from morning to evening, cherishing the peace that he could get.

It was supposed to go like this: wake up, exercise his katas, eat breakfast with family, avoid father as soon as he can, play with Sasuke a bit, train with Shisui, stop Shisui from making a fool of himself, maybe do some errands for his mother, meet with Sakura-shisou for training, go back home, eat dinner with family, bear father's propaganda, play with Sasuke if he could, review his lessons, prepare for bed, sleep.

But all went downhill when the time came for him to meet his sensei.

Standing at the edge of the training ground, far from potential hazards, he stood alone, nearly being hidden by the surrounding foliage, staring at the henge-d form of his sensei. She was too busy performing Katon techniques - most likely as a challenge to see if she could keep her henge while doing another chakra-heavy jutsu - to notice him.

Itachi couldn't care less about the impressive Katon - _This time it's the Uchiha specialty_, the analytical part of his mind offhandedly noted - that his sensei was spewing, nor the way her henge held impressively, no flickers or falterings evident.

Instead, he was too busy staring at how the fiery light affected his sensei; her pseudo-skin was shining warmly, her unusual pink hair was glowing and playing with the various hues of oranges and yellows, and her green eyes were shining determinedly. Her clothes, which he could admit to be quite - to quote Shisui - _"badass"_, were flowing majestically around her while she stood her ground, her form uncompromising.

Unconsciously, Itachi activated his Sharingan, burning the memory into his brain.

He learned that his favorite part of the day would always be the lessons with Sakura-shisou, regardless of the fact that, more often than not, there would probably be long, boring medical terms to memorize, or bleeding, sickly, people at the side, or worse, a pale, smelly corpse to probe.

And it could only mean one thing, his opportunity to help and cure people notwithstanding.

It was his sensei. Sakura… shisou.

Uchiha Itachi found himself at a loss.

With a start, he realized that, outside of his family, clan, and small circle of peers, Sakura-shisou was the one who he trusted the most aside from Shisui. He shared, without meaning to, everything about him to her. His dreams, his likes, dislikes, his goals, his fears, how he got his Sharingan, his mishaps…

Nobody ever understood his penchant for peace. Shisui does, but not to the extent of his sensei.

Said sensei started another Katon jutsu. This one was smaller, but it affected a large area. His sensei radiated brightly from the intense light.

She was… _beautiful_.

Itachi's eyes widened.

For the renowned prodigy, the realization was nothing short of earth-shattering. His short, hard, insignificant life of twelve years, eight months, six days, fourteen hours, two minutes, seven seconds were all obsolete in comparison to… _That **Moment**_.

Euphoria flooded his veins. It was exciting yet constricting, this strange feeling he had that reminded him of that time he rode on his sensei's back.

Was it… _love?_

_No_, Itachi admonished himself, blushing slightly. Shisui called him _"socially challenged"_ at times, but he was knowledgable enough to know that it was not deep as _'love'_, but it wasn't shallow as _'like'_ either.

It could be 'admiration' or 'respect', but… he felt that it was something more. With a start, he realized that the urge grew more so when his sensei departed for that years-long mission. His everyday thought during her absence were almost always full of Sakura-shisou.

Itachi wanted to know her. He already told more things to her than he did to his own mother, and the curious part of him agreed with that. So isn't it fair that he get to know all about her in return?

For instance, what was her family like? Where did she come from? How does it compare to Konoha? Was it a village or a city? Or maybe the don't have a permanent home, wandering as nomads? How do they make their living then? Traders? Merchants? As shinobi? Who taught her Tsunade-sama's technique? Under whom did she study medical jutsu? Since when have she been practicing it? How old really was she? Was her henge showing her accurate age of being a teenager? Was she the only one of her age group to be a medic? How many friends does she have? Did she have more male friends than female ones? Did she had a boyfriend waiting back home?

Uchiha Itachi's brain processes halted instantly.

He found out that he would not like it one bit if the answer to the last question is a lovestruck _"yes"_.

But… _why?_

He has no business in his sensei's love life (_Or lack thereof_, his traitorous mind piped up) or whatever she did before arriving at Konoha, after all. But he was just curious, albeit painfully so, about her life.

Still, that last question, to his slight chagrin, undoubtedly propelled his brain activities to go haywire.

A cold sweat trickled down his forehead, unnoticed. Itachi unconsciously wiped it, his Sharingan eyes still transfixed on his sensei. He frowned.

_Why does it matter?_, he asked himself, searching for… anything, just to support his claims; he does not _want_ - _like_ - _**love**_ - oh, goodness. Just - whatever it is - _no_.

I do not… do not… not...

Itachi breathed deeply, trying to calm his nerves.

_She has a fox body! It could never - she said that it was permanent - this is just wrong…_

Itachi wanted to throw his hands in the unfairness of it all, but his strict upbringing about _'manners and traits that the future Uchiha clan head should have'_ that his clan drilled into him stayed his clenched fists.

_Besides_, he scowled, his young face puckered like an old prune, _sensei is weird, to put it lightly_. He tilted his head to the side, trying to view his - _radiant_ - sensei as a boring specimen. _Her appearance is too distinctive. Her pink hair is hardly appropriate for stealth and too unique - I have not heard of any clan or family of having such hair color._

The prodigy narrowed his eyes at his shisou's jade ones._ Her green eyes are too lively, and perceptive enemies will be able to discern what her feelings are immediately…_

(… _which is, just now, elation for being able to complete her task_, a small part of his mind noted with a large, unhealthy amount of pride, which he, in turn, steadfastly ignored.)

Uchiha Itachi nodded at his reasoning, thoroughly assured by his twelve year-old brilliance.

"Oh, Itachi-kun!"

Itachi stiffened.

His sensei called out to him, finally noticing him. She was still in her henge, panting from the exertion, but her dazzling smile struck him deeper than any kunai to his gut.

Just like that, all arguments were promptly _poofed!_

Sakura waved him over. "Is there something you need?". Her emerald eyes roved over his small form, looking for injuries even if he could heal himself, her gaze warm and wholeheartedly caring.

Itachi felt himself weaken in his knees. He battled his urges to either sit from the sheer awe of his feelings or run and embrace his sensei in unexplainable ecstasy.

The flames were gone. The moment was done. But his sensei was still standing there, strong, proud, utterly _breathtaking_.

Itachi felt his mouth dry up.

Sakura-shisou, however, was evidently amused by his expression. He schooled his expression back to its usual blankness. Or rather, tried to, for his sensei ended up laughing at his efforts.

It was melodious. Why did he just realize that now? All those wasted years...

Sakura-shisou - aside from his mother, his best friend, and brother - always made him smile. But she was, more often than not, the one who would always find a way to make him laugh, one way or another.

_It will only be proper if I make her laugh in return, won't it?_, Itachi thought, all disgruntlement from being laughed at washed away.

"Itachi?" his sensei's voice called out when he spaced out, thoroughly unaware of his surroundings. When had that ever happened before? Never.

He inwardly shook his head. No matter; Sakura-shisou always managed to bring out the best and worst in him. He stepped closer and, smiling, greeted her. He became more pleased when her smile widened at the sight of his own.

Where would he be without his Sakura-shisou?

* * *

.

.

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ Edited at **June** **10,** **2013** to accomodate Taiko-chan's updates to her story.

~ I figured that since Sakura's around messing with the timeline, Itachi-chan managed to be more of a kid, as loose as that term applies to him.

In other words, he now has a small crush on his sensei.

~ Sadly, _Going_ _Sideways_ is not ItaSaku, but if it becomes possible, I will gladly captain the ship.

But wait, what is this angry mob over their…** AGE GAP!?**

Bah! Lotsa people ship Sakura with Kakashi, Sasori, Kisame, the Yondaime (that is just weird…), and - disturbingly - Madara. I know that love is, uh, 'ageless' and all, but dude, really! Madara is where I draw the freakin' line.

~ To that random guest reviewer commenting about Sakura in heat… you are right. I totally forgot about that. I make mistakes. *shrugs*

Therefore, I edited the last chapter a bit. Thanks for pointing that out. ;D

* * *

Thank you for the continued support! Next chapter might be about Taiko-chan's challenge… (which was not really a challenge, but I took it as one). Maybe.

~ Lost-chan


	7. Score

~ I planned to update this fic weeks ago, but alas, I was distracted by other awesome fanfics out there, namely F_ancy Footwork_ and _Menagerie_ by silver-footsteps. The former is a rather nice, lighthearted fic - a good break from all the Massacre-angst and Kishimotrolling abound - while the latter is a thoughtful series of possibilities. Hmm.

Then there was _Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty_…

Additional supply depots required.

Additional supply depots required.

Additional supply depots required.

Nuclear launch detected.

...

Woot! Can't wait for _Heart of the Swarm_! \(^O^)/

~ Anyhoo, please enjoy this extra-long chapter! Somewhere, while I was typing this, it got out of hand and became crack, yeah...

* * *

**Going Waysides**

7: **Score**

* * *

_This cast is very annoying_, Kakashi concluded darkly as he made his way down the stairs of the Hokage Tower after a mission report, trying not to jostle his injury too much.

He and Sakura, alongside a couple of chunin, were in a mission to raid a crime lord's house to arrest the bastard for slavery. The bastard was _busy_ at the time of their assault, and unfortunately, one of the chunin got distracted by the undressed states of the prostitutes, making him vulnerable for the incoming attack from behind. The Copy-nin managed to save the idiot's ass, but it got Kakashi an injured arm for his troubles. Feeling a little petty at the time, Kakashi used his position as team leader to delegate the whole team's paperwork on the bum.

_Serves him right for being a pervert at the wrong time_, Kakashi sourly thought of the idiotic chunin. _I, at least, can control my urges_, he glanced down at his furry companion, frowning. _No thanks to her._

Sakura was a very effective disciplinarian - the threat of his precious Icha Icha or his family jewels being ripped to shreds swiped all attempts of peacefully reading his literature in public.

It was totally unfair; he was a perfectly healthy young man! Being so, it was perfectly reasonable that he pursue ways to satiate his biological urges.

He debated with Sakura that all men have the healthy urge of admiring the female form, that even cold fishes like Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuuga Hiashi succumbed to primal instincts and produced children with their wives. He is a lone (and handsome) bachelor, but he's also a jounin and a student of the Yondaime and thus he had more expectations stacked on him, leaving him no time for any serious relationships. Icha Icha is the only safe stress reliever and pleasure-giver for him, his _salvation_ in this crazy world.

Sakura didn't buy it.

So he tried to explain a compromise of wrapping a fake, respectable cover on his Icha Icha, but the fox merely narrowed her eyes and ominously stretched her claws.

Sneaking his book was a no-no. Her damn heightened fox-senses enables her to keenly smell the pages, marked by the scent of the oil that he applies to his weapons.

Bribes and threats wouldn't work; Sakura is pretty close to Minato-sensei and he would probably launch multiple Rasengan on his precious book if he gets wind of his 'animal' cruelty (not to mention that Minato-sensei already barely tolerates his own sensei for his admirable, brave research).

Blackmail is impossible - how the heck does one blackmail someone who already lost her family, friends, and body? And Sakura is too… _clean_; even if she didn't come from Konoha, Sakura is one of the most loyal and trustworthy Leaf nin he ever had the (mis)fortune to be acquainted with.

Pakkun and the pack couldn't care less about his _"tasteless human porn"_. And even if he does manage to bribe them to ask on his behalf, it'll be too suspicious with their sudden interest.

Somewhat desperate, he also thought of asking Itachi to beg his shisou, but he instantly crushed that thought - the Uchiha is thoroughly devoted to Sakura like a duckling to its mother. And despite his intellect, he's still a kid; too young. Mikoto would skin him alive if she gets wind that he's trying to corrupt her little boy.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped as he exited the Tower, glancing down at his companion as her tail swished happily as she trotted beside him. His frown frown morphed into a scowl.

It was all so unfair.

He was the one who let her live with him with his apartment - never mind the fact that Minato-sensei ordered him to - and helped her through her troubles as she adjusted in living in Konoha. He shared his food and meager wealth with her when his hard-earned money could've been spent on better investments, like the newly-released Second Edition of Icha Icha Paradise (_"With 200% more hotness!"_, the cover said). He helped her deal with her distressing periods of being 'in heat', which was more troublesome than its worth because it always involved herding attracted male canines away from his apartment while trying to avoid a rabid, hormonally-driven Sakura at the same time.

Can't a man catch a break? Can't a man take some pleasure with his noble, daily sacrifices in regards to his sanity, money, and libido?

He can't understand why the hell Sakura considers reading his chosen literature in public as wrong. He was just simply exercising his rights and privilege to read Jiraiya-sama's exceptional masterpiece.

And why was Sakura still thoroughly affected by those notions anyway? It's not like she has anything to show or hide now…

In a fit of rage full of passionate conviction, he unthinkingly slipped that comment during their debate. Yes, he can admit that he crossed the line, so he somewhat tolerated her silent treatments and cold shoulders, but when Minato-sensei forced him on a week full of consecutive D(espair)-ranked missions, well, it was just… _unreasonable_.

But the one that took the cake was Itachi: whenever they crossed paths, he just unblinkingly _stared_.

And **stared**.

And _**stared**_.

Even when he tried to discreetly escape from the prodigy's sight, he would still feel the Stare boring holes on his head.

It was creepy.

_But_, Kakashi thought resolutely, _no __**more**_.

He didn't do anything wrong, so he would not tolerate this injustice any longer.

He was only a man who wanted to enjoy his porn, and regardless of Sakura's reasons (a majority of which he felt that she didn't want to share, oddly enough) that it was _"morally corrupt"_, he would persevere.

Hatake Kakashi is a genius and a fighter. He would not be deterred. He would think of something to defeat such unfathomable obstacles between him and his enjoyment of reading his cherished book out in the open. Regardless of the odds, he would _not give up_.

So racked his brain through weeks of unbearable agony from boredom while escaping Itachi's eerie gaze (_What is _wrong_ with him?_) until he found the perfect, _perfect_ solution.

It was quite by accident, when Sakura - recovering from another chase that occurred during her 'in heat' periods - came back bitching (_Pun unintended_) one night, complaining about how she can't eat certain food lest they poison her.

_If I'm suffering, why couldn't she?_, Kakashi inwardly sulked. _Teammates go through everything together. They enjoy good times together, they __**suffer**__ together._

Mollified with the last thought, Kakashi finally smiled as he enacted his plan.

* * *

Kakashi is up to something. He was smiling for no apparent reason and his eye gleamed with no small amount of unholy glee.

Sakura felt goosebumps riding all over her body. The aura Kakashi was exuding reminded her of the times when her tardy sensei would suddenly spring unpleasant surprises out of the blue - the _crap-hits-the-fan_ type of surprises - on the team, cackling as they slave away while he lounged around with his smut.

What happened? Excluding the incident with the perverted chunin, this Kakashi has never shown this barely-hidden sadism. If he didn't have an injury, Sakura could guess that he would already be rubbing his hands as he hunched in a dark corner after employing genjutsu of a thunder storm behind him.

Sakura nearly faltered from her trot when Kakashi failed to cough to hide his evil chuckles. She sped up, trying to put space between them while trying to look like she wasn't doing so. Abruptly, Kakashi turned a sharp left, walking purposely on the opposite direction from his apartment.

"Kakashi?" Sakura called out, partly confused and partly relieved that he's moving away from her, "you're going the wrong way."

The man stopped from is strides and tilted his head to face her, his eye-smile giving off disturbing connotations. Sakura could swear that the ends of the inverted U-shape of his eye would connect to create a circle from sheer happiness. "I just have something to pick up. I heard that a new shop just opened somewhere in this street. Come on." He gestured to the road before him, his demeanor sickeningly saccharine.

Highly suspicious, she warily made her way back beside him. Kakashi seemed undaunted by her slow pace, patiently standing with his hands in his pockets. He whistled a happy tune when she finally reached him and continued his walk. Sakura kept her guard up, wondering if his whistling was a signal to spring a trap.

But after walking a few steps onward, a certain scent hit her nose. Her mouth unconsciously watered, her ears pricked in attention, and her tail stood. Ignoring Kakashi, she dazedly walked in a trance towards the store…

It was a dessert store.

On its glass window, a handwritten sign perched, brightly saying,

"WE JUST OPENED! COME TRY OUR DELICIOUSLY HOMEMADE CHOCOLATES!"

Unbidden, her mouth watered.

She remembered this shop. It was where Ino bought the sweets mandatory for all of the girls' sleep overs, where Shikamaru frequently ran to when he dealt with Kurenai's cravings during her pregnancy, and the place that Chouji considered to be the only one that could evenly match with his family's recipe for sweets.

The shop that the everybody in Konoha considered to be the best place to produce anything made from chocolate.

_Chocolate_.

"Sakura!"

Sakura jerked, suddenly aware that Kakashi had been calling for her attention for long while now. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, "got lost for a bit. You were saying...?"

Kakashi raised his visible brow, but didn't comment on her lapse of concentration, "I said that I was going to buy some chocolate."

Sakura tilted her head, puzzled. That was... weird. To her knowledge, both of the Kakashi she knew never went out of his way to buy chocolate, so she asked, "Why?"

At this, he smiled again, "Nothing, really. Heard a few weeks ago from Chōza that the owner was a good friend of his. Just struck my fancy."

But his gleeful aura saying otherwise, reminding her of Naruto's exuberance when he was in his pranking mode. "You never went out for sweets before," she narrowed her eyes, "What changed?"

Kakashi was unperturbed by her suspicions, "Well, if you really want a reason, I just wanted to celebrate for a job well done for the last mission. And chocolate is considered comfort food, isn't it? A lonely man like me needs some comfort for my poor arm." He gestured to his arm slung across his chest.

"Celebrate? Just by yourself?" Sakura challenged, a bit irked that he implied that she wasn't considered good company. But knowing Kakashi, he could just be trying to get under her skin. "What about me?"

Kakashi casually waved her concerns away, "Don't worry, I'll buy enough for both of us." He then straightened and made his way towards the door, not giving Sakura any chance to retort. Then he froze, as if remembering something. "Though, I'm not sure if you should eat any," he looked over his shoulder, meeting Sakura's bemused eyes, purposefully leaving his words in the air.

After a few moments, his eye crinkled happily again.

"Ah, well, more for me." With that, whistling as you please, he ambled into the shop, leaving his furry companion nonplussed outside.

Sakura stared at the door.

What... was _that_? Kakashi was purposefully… _mean_ for some reason.

Why would he make a pointed comment about her not being able to eat chocolate? Yes, she recognized the fact that due to her body, certain types of food would now be considered unpalatable for her fox-tastes, and some of those are downright poisonous for her. Chocolate was such, and the scent wafting from the shop right now is making it difficult for her to resist temptation.

Sakura swallowed, then tried to stop smelling and instead concentrated in breathing through her mouth. She had to get away from the torture, but Kakashi has the key to the apartment, and he was still inside, buying the cursed food.

_Kakashi…_

She mentally reviewed everything she has done during the mission. As far as she could tell, she performed well. Kakashi didn't seem displeased with the team's performance (discounting the idiot chunin) and his behavior, until the disturbing minutes earlier, was normal, albeit slightly annoyed due to his injury.

So she went farther back, checking out the time she spent with Kakashi. The only memorable incidents were when Kakashi lost his cool in his debate to be allowed to read his Icha Icha in public (_Jerk_, Sakura thought, affronted), when he got assigned a shipload of D(eserved)-ranked missions, and when he questioned her why Itachi would always stare at him weirdly (_Why was he doing that? Was it something I said? He did mention something about his cousin Shisui saying that it was for education…_) for weeks.

_"Was it because of my penchant for sophisticated readings, particularly Icha Icha?"_ Kakashi accused her at the time.

Then with a sudden jolt, she realized something. All of those had a connection to… Icha Icha.

Icha Icha. Chocolate.

_Hell __**no**_.

Sakura's hackles, literally and figuratively, rose. She knew Kakashi enough that he could be a vindictive, remorseless, childish bastard when it came to protecting his beloved book.

And now that she figured him out, it was not really a surprise that he was lowering himself for petty revenge, even if he wouldn't admit it.

But she couldn't just tell him not to eat chocolate. Reading porn in public has moral boundaries, but there was nothing wrong with eating chocolate. It would just seem unfair to prohibit him from eating chocolate just because she can't.

_"But it's unfair for me!"_ she wailed inwardly, while her outside she was still fixated in front of the shop, drooling.

Besides the fact that she still felt peeved by her past-Kakashi's behavior with his porn, she reasoned that she was just looking out for him and Minato. She can comprehend the fact that his pervertedness was just a mask for his turmoil, but really, his laziness is already doing a good job of masking his competence.

And Minato is already embarrassed with having a renowned "Super Pervert" as a teacher, so if word got out that he was associated with another pervert, his student to boot, Konoha's Yellow Flash might lose respect, and at worst, be saddled with the deviants, albeit a closet one.

_Not to mention the fact that Naruto was also a bit of a pervert during my time_, Sakura thought darkly, thinking about the prankster's famous Sexy no Jutsu. Poor Minato.

_Poor me_, she thought, dismayed. Then she scowled.

_What the hell, Kakashi? For someone who preached to 'look underneath the underneath', you couldn't even scratch the surface of this one -_

"Greetings, my Eternal Rival's youthful summon!", an exuberant voice called above her, snapping her from her internal rant.

Sakura couldn't help but stare.

There, looming right above her, somehow managing to find a spot to block the sun's rays at the right angle, was a green-spandex-wearing… _thing_, posing with his - _its _- hands on its hips.

Sakura made the mistake of looking up as the man - _beast_ - beamed at her, baring his brilliant, neat teeth, its rays overwhelming everything else. The sight blinded her hypersensitive eyes, but in that brief second, she was able to make out its bowl-cut hair that gleamed shamelessly - the sun behind complementing it off with an unnecessary flare - above its thick eyebrows, which were both wiggling animatedly.

She supposed that being associated with Kakashi, she should've seen this coming. But really, with all the worry and planning for her future knowledge and all, these little things took a back seat.

Though for the life of her, Sakura couldn't remember why she considered the issue of the eccentric shinobi as a 'little thing'.

Maito Gai.

Sakura didn't know if she should be happy or to run for the hills. On one hand (or paw), Gai was an exceptional shinobi, who despite his eccentricities, was always unfailingly loyal and honest, to the extreme point that undercover missions wouldn't work for him. Aside from Naruto and Lee, Gai was an honest and positive man, and if one wants a break from all the lies and deception in the shinobi lifestyle while having one's spirits uplifted, one can simply talk to him.

_Or rather, listen and try to hold your ears from blowing off_, Sakura cringed.

On the other, Gai's freakishness - from his youthful proclamations (even when he's well past his youth) to his outlandish fashion sense - was considered so mind-scarring that speculations abounded when it became apparent that Neji and Tenten were still miraculously sane.

_"You do everything to look away quickly and pretend that it was all a bad dream," _Tenten once revealed to her when their sensei's famous sunset genjutsu abruptly shone behind some crashing waves in the middle of Team Ten's previously dry training ground. Sakura saw Neji wince as he failed to deactivate his Byakugan in time, and Tenten patted his arm sympathetically.

_"Once you see it, you can never un-see it, you can never look away,"_ the weapons mistress continued, speaking from many traumatizing experiences, _"and with the Byakugan…"_ she trailed off, looking pointedly at Neji who was looked like he was curbing the urge to bleach his eyes, and Sakura finally understood why Gai's previous attempts at schooling Neji's old beliefs away from Fate never succeeded until Naruto beat it out of him.

Presently, Sakura was very grateful that the genjutsu wasn't in existence. If it was here at her first meeting with this timeline's Gai, she just might revert into a fox mentally.

And he was still shining his teeth down at her.

"Uh, hi?" Sakura replied weakly, still squinting her eyes, hoping that the black spots would disappear from her vision.

"Hello!" the creature - no, _man _- boomed again, straining her ears a bit.

_Good thing he keeps his mouth clean_, Sakura thought. With her fox-nose, she could now discern the man's pure, minty breath. Gai is the epitome of the ultra-hygienic shinobi, the fox belatedly realized.

"May I ask where my Eternal Rival is?" he grinned, not at all perturbed that he was bellowing his queries to an animal in the middle of the street during the midday. Sakura, regaining her sight, found herself glad that the man had crouched down to be at her eye level. _Ah, so that's why it, er, he was louder than usual…_

It was a bit weird to see him without his jounin vest. It was a safe place to place your eyesight on when the green became too much to bear, and now without the shield, Sakura found herself fighting to keep her mental faculties in check. Not to mention that this Gai is really, _literally_, youthful.

Dealing with Gai when he's at his youthful peak was a horror that no one should undergo. _Ever_.

How did Kakashi lived through this? She didn't know that her sensei had to deal with the odd fellow this early -

_Wait!_

Gai. Rivals. Kakashi.

_Where?_

Sakura dare not eye the shop, lest she tip Gai off in an untimely manner and have her opportunity be wasted.

_Hell __**yes**__._

Sakura couldn't help the feral grin that twisted her face, inwardly hoping that it instead came out as a friendly fox-smile.

"Um, may I ask who's looking for him?" she inquired meekly, trying to quell her rising urge to cackle.

"Ah, my apologies!" and with that, the man stood up again and reassumed his pose, puffing his chest as he did so. "I am Maito Gai: the Youthful Green Beast of Konoha!"

"Maito Gai?" the fox tilted her head, feigning puzzlement. "Ah! You're that man that master was always talking about!"

Gai's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Really!?" he exclaimed, and Sakura saw that his eyes already started glinting with the early vestiges of tears, but for the sake of teaching Kakashi a lesson, she would persevere. Then he sobered up.

"H-he," the man sounded hesitant, obviously surprised, "talks about me?". Gai was visibly awed.

"Yes," the fox replied, grinning madly, "he said that you were one of the most inspiring people he has ever had the pleasure to be acquainted with, second only to Hokage-sama," the man excitedly opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, "and that he only keeps his hip and cool attitude to balance your zealous youthfulness."

Gai fell silent, head bowed down, face so obscured that even Sakura can't discern anything from her angle straight from below.

Then Mount Gai erupted.

"**KAKASHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!**" Gai bawled out, tears streaming, as he stood triumphantly, fists clenched passionately. On cue, waves crashed on rock outcroppings behind him while the sunset genjutsu triumphed over everything else.

Sakura chanced a glance at her left and saw Kakashi slipping back into the store. _That traitorous coward…_

"Thank you for telling me this, kitsune-san!" the man in front of her suddenly cut her thoughts. "I… I… I never imagined…!" and the beast promptly lost all human eloquence, babbling and choking from his tears.

"Yes," Sakura refrained from extending the sound of the 's' and hissing like a conniving snake, "he actually thinks of you as a brother."

Gai gaped. "A brother?"

The sly fox couldn't help herself, "Yes. A young brother who plays and starts mischief to brighten his older brother's day. You are, I quote," Sakura paused, trying not to visibly cringe from the corniness of the next line, "'the youthful, bright sun' to his 'hip, cool moon'."

With all the forced practice that came with being associated with strange, crying green-spandex-clad men, Sakura deftly ignored the frightened stares that were surrounding them.

_Yep, I knew that he would do that_, she mentally proclaimed to all.

When he was sensible enough, Sakura continued on her ruse, "Please don't tell him that I don't told you that," then her voice lowered to a stage whisper, "it's supposed to be a secret."

Gai wiped his snot off with a hankie he pulled from... somewhere, "Then why tell me this - oh! I apologize, I didn't get your name."

"It's Sakura," the fox replied easily, "and I told you because, well…" she trailed off, faking indecision, "I'm worried about him."

She made her way in front of the shop and turned her back to it; she didn't know if Kakashi could lip-read fox-mouths, but it was better to be cautious than sorry.

"Eh?" Gai sniffed into his hankie.

"Well, whenever he's not training or on missions or getting groceries, he's always cooped in his apartment. I know that he _absolutely _agrees," Sakura's voice was sickeningly sweet at this point, "with your youthful preachings, and I know that he wants to practice them, but, as I said, he tries to maintain his cool attitude to help your youth shine brighter than anybody's." At this Gai, was about to burst into a wailing mass again, but Sakura cut him off.

"I'm worried about him, because I think that his act is becoming real," the fox paused, trying to enlarge her eyes with cuteness, "that even back in the privacy of the apartment, he still keeps his un-youthful attitude. He never spends any quality time with me, _us_, his summons _anymore!_," she wailed, then Sakura hushed her voice, partly to convey an act akin to a kicked puppy and partly to avoid more attention.

Suddenly, she stood up on her hind legs, placed her front paws on the man's chest, and steeled her resolve not to flinch from her close proximity with the raised, thick eyebrows, and stared right into surprised black eyes.

"He hides behind t-tha-that book! That _evil_ book! _Icha Icha Paradise_, I believe, so that he can exercise his youthfulness in a more… mellow way. We tried everything…" at the end, her voice trailed off into an ominous, helpless whisper.

Then, without warning, her eyes blazed with green fire. Sakura struggled to keep a level voice, leaving her determined eyes to plead loudly to Gai as she knew that the man recognized determination a mile away.

"We want our master back!" she implored fiercely, thankful that the street was left vacant and that no one was peeking from the windows due to Gai's antics earlier. "We want our youthful, hip, Kakashi back! The one who wasn't afraid or ashamed to go on competitions with you! The one who secretly used to go across the village to start his five hundred laps at the same time and at the same direction as you so that you _won't cross paths!_ The one who used to try on at least _ten pairs of grey spandex_ to see if they still fit before going to bed! The one who created the ominous lightning genjutsu _to counterbalance your sunset genjutsu!_ The one who cried at night because _he needed to trim his eyebrows!_ The one would always sulk and complain that _a bowl-cut would never look good on him!_"

Sakura stopped, seemingly running out of steam, inwardly musing that Gai's eyes could end up looking like Lee's round ones if he kept on widening his eyes like that.

She went for the kill.

"We want him to stop hiding and to show his true colors to the world," she continued with a level voice. "Together, you and Kakashi-sama would be able to show everyone how youthful Konoha is and engulf the world in _a fiery new age of a youthful tomorrow_."

Sakura never imagined that the cheesy movies that she spent watching with Ino and the girls would be helpful in some way in the future. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her heart - excited and trying not to laugh from all the crap she was spewing - catching a mouthful of Gai's mixed, clean scent of various minty hygienic products and perspiration (_He must've gone straight from training when he heard that Kakashi was back in town_, the fox mused), along with the present chocolatey scent emanating from the shop.

She then plead softly, but with large dashes of desperation.

"Please help us Maito Gai. You are our only hope."

All was silent, and Sakura couldn't hear anything except her ragged breaths.

Then, watching with morbid fascination, she watched Gai's expression contort to an unspeakable nightmare.

"_SUCH_ _**PASSION!**_" the abomination howled, and before Sakura could escape, the creature surrounded her with iron-enforced walls of arms. "_SUCH __**INTENSITY!**__ SUCH __**DEDICATION!**_, with every sentence, the beast tightened its hold on her to punctuate its point. Sakura could feel her life being squeezed away, and she fought the overwhelming need to bite the its head off.

_"SUCH __**YOOOOOUUUUUTH!**_"

Waterfalls formed from Gai's orifices, forming a new body of water connecting to the sea that accompanied the sunset genjutsu. Sakura knew that it was medically possible for a human to release liters of tears at once, but like Tsunade-shisou, she just tossed the phenomena into a box that was labeled _'supernatural-elephants-in-the-room-that-shall-not -be-discussed'_.

"I AM MOVED BY _YOUR __**DEVOTION!**_ THEREFORE, I SHALL HELP YOU IN _THIS __**ENDEAVOR!**_ I SHALL VISIT KAKASHI TOMORROW MORNING TO START OUT _A __**NEW YOUTHFUL MORNING ROUTINE**_ AND -"

"_**NO!**_" Sakura suddenly shrieked, halting Gai's energetic rant. He looked at her questioningly.

"I, er, m-mean," the fox stammered, panic rising inside, "um, take it little by little. If you force him too much, he may shrink away and get discouraged. Use baby steps." She breathed, trying to get her balance back. Gai released his embrace (_Prison_, Sakura inwardly cringed) and let her stand up on her four legs. She smiled gratefully and resumed her explanation. "Home is where he needs to rest from all his youthfulness. Too much enthusiasm can be bad too. So please," Sakura mustered all the cuteness she could get into her puppy-eyes again, "don't intrude upon his apartment. Let him rest there." She didn't want to be shaken awake in the unreasonable hours in the morning, after all.

Gai looked thoughtful. "Then how will I be able to help him when, as you said, 'he's always cooped in his apartment'? Kakashi is very hard to track otherwise."

"He's determined to hide from you," Sakura agreed, "but isn't that an exercise of youthfulness? Even now, in his own reticent way, Kakashi-sama's looking out for you."

The man looked awed, but she prodded on, "Think of it as a challenge, Gai-san. A challenge to make your tracking skills up to par with his. Kakashi-sama, after all, is a man who preaches to _'look underneath the underneath'…_" she trailed off, letting her words hang meaningfully.

A light bulb lit up from Gai shiny black head. "**OH!**", he victoriously smacked his fist into a palm like a hammer. "Kakashi is subtly training me so that someday, he would be able to outright challenge me in tracking!", and at this revelation, he promptly burst into tears again.

Sakura glanced at the shop for a bit, to see if Kakashi would even deign to check up on her from the window.

_Nope, no show_, the fox scowled._ Bastard._

"Kakashi is truly an admirable rival! He measures my skills in ways that even I cannot discern! I AM HONORED TO BE YOUR RIVAL!" he roared to no one in particular. Sakura directed healing chakra to her ears to heal the abuse it went through as the man stopped crying and tried to get his bearings.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," he grinned disarmingly, but his eyes scared the wits out of the fox in front of him. "My Flames of Youth have burnt brightly_ than __**ever before!**_ I shall now run six hundred laps around Konoha as gratitude for this revelation!" with that, he took off, jogging. "Goodbye!"

"Make it a thousand!" Sakura said as a means of indirect retribution from the whole ordeal, never mind that it was self-inflicted. She would have nightmares from this, after all.

"A youthful idea! Please greet my rival for me!" he called over his shoulder.

The fox watched him disappear around a bend before releasing a sign of relief.

"Was someone calling for me?" a bored voice called out from above. Again, Sakura yelped in surprise.

"Maa, Sakura-chan, pay better attention to your surroundings, will you?" the insufferable man teased, and Sakura's hackles rose again.

"Why did you abandon me here?!" she hissed. "I saw you coming out earlier but you went back inside!"

"Well, there was old lady struggling to reach up some chocolates from a high shelf, but as it turned out, the types of chocolate that she wanted to buy were all on the high shelves, so I had to help her," he crinkled his eye.

Sakura stared at him for a while, highly unimpressed.

"And look here!" he held up a deliciously-smelling plastic bag. "She gave me some of her chocolate!"

Sakura breathed deeply, trying very hard not to rip her teammate into happy shreds. The scent of the chocolate aggravated and soothed her at the same time.

She changed topics instead. "Did you listen to our talk?"

"I heard Gai just fine. Good to see that you survived," he cheerfully ignored her glare. Then he looked thoughtfully at her. "Although, I'm quite curious; what did you tell him?"

Sakura refrained from dancing in joy, and instead settled for a sarcastic tone. "I just told him that I was waiting for my master who was _kind_ enough to buy me, a canine, _chocolate_."

"Ah," the Copy-nin nodded understandingly. He dug into the plastic bag and held up a brown piece.

Sakura could swear that the brown glop was calling out to her. Kakashi noticed her hypnotized stare.

His eye crinkled. "You want one?"

The fox wordlessly glowered at him and turned to the street that led to his apartment.

Kakashi gleefully followed after her, munching on bites of the tempting chocolate surreptitiously all the way.

* * *

Blue eyes crinkled with mirth from the Hokage Tower as the man began putting the crystal ball away.

He noticed earlier during the fox's report that his student was looking at her with a childish gleam that he hadn't seen since the Kyuubi attack. A bit intrigued and worried (his student's mean-streak could be quite vicious), he used the crystal ball used by the previous Hokage to spy on the two and intervene on Kakashi's antics if it was needed.

He tolerated his sensei's perverted antics, but when he found out that Kakashi, his student, was also a deviant, he resigned himself to being acknowledged as a connection to two perverts. Every shinobi, every human, has a quirk, after all. But that doesn't mean that he had to like it.

Namikaze Minato chuckled in recollection, highly entertained with what just recently happened.

The Yondaime was immensely grateful for Sakura's efforts, and he wholeheartedly supports her. In fact, he planned to give a lecture to Kakashi after Rasengan-ing his book due to the line that his student shouldn't have crossed when Gai came, upping the ante. He waited, wanting to see how Sakura would handle Gai; it was always amusing to see someone new deal with the enthusiastic shinobi.

But he was floored.

Nobody was ever able to handle and tolerate Gai like she did.

_She even outdid Kakashi! The man dealt with him for years!_, Minato thought earlier as he stared at the scene from his ball, unable to look away from the genjutsu.

It seemed that Sakura already had experience in dealing with weird men. He shuddered, both from the imagination of the horrors she must have dealt with and from the way that sentence just sounded so wrong.

Minato leaned back on his seat, putting his hands behind his head. _This is going to be interesting. And Kakashi needed some life in his life anyways._

He looked back to the ball and eyed the fox now steadfastly ignoring Kakashi's jibes. _Sakura has valuable experience dealing with deranged men_, the Yondaime thought of Gai and Madara, _she would be an asset in dealing with Gai._

He'll have Kakashi, Gai and Sakura together in a mission one day and check their team dynamics, and if it all works out, maybe have them as a permanent team.

"It will help Sakura get adjusted better in the long run," he told himself. After all, when one dealt with the most extreme shinobi, all the others will just become walks in the park, won't they?

He snorted at the thought.

_Most importantly, it'll be unfair if Kakashi was the only who dealt with the odd man. Teammates go through everything..._

Namikaze Minato nodded importantly as he searched for specific paper from his pockets, steadfastly ignoring the hysterical laughter coming from the part of his mind that was highly grateful for the new entertainment. He found the paper and opened it from its folds. Two names were written on it.

Minato reached for a pencil, erased a digit beside one of the names, and replaced it with another.

He smiled, already anticipating the next bout.

_Kakashi:1, Sakura: 2._

* * *

.

.

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ Edited at **June 10, 2013** to finally appease myself from all those pesky typoes. I still retained my other unnecessary comments though for some reason I cannot fathom.

~ I apologize to those youthful fans of Gai for butchering his character, but all in all, I think I did a pretty good job. I adore the man, really. And he had shiny hair and teeth! How could one not think that he's immaculately hygienic?

And does anybody here read the _Naruto_ spinoff, _Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth_?

~ Yeah, Kakashi is somewhat a jerk sometimes…

And Minato has a sense of humor, but I don't think that he was very mean. He was only looking out for his shinobi, after all. :D

~ Why was Itachi staring? That will be answered someday on a another chapter. Hopefully. ;D

~ Chapter 619… Kishimotroll knows no bounds. The only acceptable trolling there was the First's attitude, but even _that_ was weird. But I love Hashirama. He was utterly, full of of crack.

Also, the Uchiha is basically a clan of evil and... **love**?!

WHAT.

I don't even…

(-_-)

The power of emotions! **YOSH!**

And Orochimaru knowing about Shiiki Fuujin seemed to be an asspull… why didn't he do that at the Chuunin Exam? And he was kinda paraplegic at those three years of timeskip, ya know.

Annnnnnd now he and Sasuke's merry band are wild cards, not to mention that Karin was fumbling with something at the prison, too…

~ So far, the only retcon that I found acceptable was Itachi turning out to be a good guy. I read from somewhere that he was supposed to be a real psychopath.

Or maybe I'm just biased. *shrugs*

~ To all those random reviewers, thanks for commenting and supporting! But if you have an account, please do log in; it's easier to reply to you, y'know?

~ I would just like to say that I always go back and edit the chapters of this fic and my other fic, _Loops_, because I myself enjoy rereading fics. Sometimes, I'm struck by the nostalgia bug, so I go back read a memorable chapter to get some good time.

Making my fics readable is for my future readers and all those who would reread my fics some day. Maybe, you'll remember a line or two from my fic and the urge to reread it is compelling enough to search this fic again.

I don't edit my Code Geass fics, though, so plenty of mistakes are abound there.

~ Who can guess where that shout-out line came from? I love putting shout-outs in my fics. :D

* * *

Thank you for the continued support! Next chapter is _definitely_ about Taiko-chan's challenge… (which was not really a challenge, but I took it as one). Really. Yeah.

~ Lost-chan


	8. Cerise

~ Ugh, I stared this chapter months before, but meh, I procrastinated and procrastinated, and real life got in the way. Bah.

~ Spoilers abound for Chapters 500 to 503 from _Naruto_. Wait, should they really be called spoilers at this point?

~ Reading a chapter is faster than watching an episode. Due to that, the animation people are often pushed to make time; i.e. by making more scenes, adding more action, putting bullet time, etc.

I never watched the anime of Naruto because I'm freakin' **sick** of those horrible, **_horrible_** fillers (_One Piece_ fillers, in comparison, are weirdly awesome, or awesomely weird; I never know what goes on in Oda-chii's head when he writes _One Piece_), but I think that they kinda slowed down the process of ripping out the Kyuubi from Kushina, in comparison to the fast ripping of the Kyuubi as explained by Taiko-chan in Chapter 37 of _Going Sideways_.

Why am I posting something about that? *looks innocent*

* * *

**Going Waysides**

8: **Cerise**

* * *

Minato loved his Kushina with all of his heart.

He loved her long, glorious, scarlet hair, even as she would complain how easily it gets tangled. Her infectious grins that never failed to lighten up his day, even when Mikoto teases her best friend how she looked so silly with all those noodles hanging from her mouth. Her soft side underneath her tough persona that only a few lucky witnessed. Her soft, supple skin, which as her husband, always has the pleasure of seeing the entirety of.

He would always touch her to convince himself that he wasn't dreaming because _kami_, having Kushina in his life, loving _him_ back, always made him feel **_alive_**.

"_OH_ **KAMI**, _IT_ **HURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTS**!"

But he was glad that he wasn't holding her hand right now.

Minato spared a glance at the cracks lining the bed underneath Kushina's crushing grip; the unfortunate furniture would disintegrate any minute now. Still, he couldn't help but feel enamored with Kushina all over again, even as she laid there loud, sweaty, and swearing.

Although it was mixed with worry, a strong sense of pride for his wife surged through his being, akin to the happiness that he always felt when he witnessed his beloved wife grew heavy with his child.

Said child, though, was currently making his normally tough wife give uncharacteristic wails of pain.

"I, uh, have never heard Kushina in so much pain before…" Minato was sure that Kushina would pummel him afterwards for putting her through hell. "Are…" he gulped nervously, "are you sure she's all right?"

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama. She's going to be fine!" Natsume, one of his medic ANBU, reassured him from the side. "Just please keep your eyes on the seal!"

"But she's –"

"Please have faith, Yondaime-sama! We won't let anything bad happen to either of them!"

_You better_, Minato thought morosely. He normally has his entire faith readily placed in his shinobi, but this is a very special circumstance, involving not only the fate of Konoha but also his wife and child. His... family.

_Family._

Minato smiled warmed at the giddy thought, meeting his beloved wife's eyes. In turn, Kushina – who was currently deliriously drowning in sweat, blood, tears, and fatigue, making her highly distracted and prone to misunderstandings – snarled when she saw her husband grinning at her painful predicament. She would've given him an earful if a wave of contractions didn't hit her then.

Nonetheless – as the Yondaime warily shuffled an inch away from the woman loudly swearing to destroy a certain body part of his – Minato was sure that his ANBU would do their best... if not for the safety of Konoha, then for the sake of bragging rights, when the issue of his child's birth doesn't have to be a secret anymore. Telling everyone who helped in Naruto's birth is acceptable as by that point in time, it wouldn't really matter as it already happened. As to the matter of secrecy and why only a few was involved, people would just chalk it up to safety reasons – it wasn't unusual for people of power to have their weak moments be covered.

_Although Kushina would probably just reword her 'weak moment' as a harrowing experience that made her stronger_, Minato thought fondly of the furious red-head on the birthing bed. The contraction passed, leaving Kushina to bonelessly slump on the sheets as the medics hovered around her, encouraging her to stay strong.

Minato was used to seeing the Red-Hot Habanero standing strong and proud, not like this: her breathing laborious, her pallor pale, her eyes sunken with dark circles. The Yellow Flash felt his apprehension rising intensify.

He studied the pregnancy books that Mikoto lent them so he knew what to expect, but this… this is too much! He wasn't even the one giving birth!

A struggle deep from the seal underneath his hovering hands suddenly stole his focus. _It's so strong!, _the Yondaime added more chakra to his palms. _I can feel the Fox struggling to break out!_

"Hang in there Kushina! Hang in there Naruto!" he called, distressed. Kushina whimpered in response.

"Naruto, get out here! Kyuubi, you stay right where you are!" Minato focused more chakra, weaving temporary yet stable strengthening seals to his wife's belly. His world zeroed in to the malicious force threatening to erupt beneath his fingers, calls of "Keep going, Kushina-san!", "The head's out!", and "Almost there, Kushina-san!" nearly bypassing him.

Uzumaki Kushina clenched her eyes, bit her mouth, held her screams, and _focused_. Focused on the painful sensation between her legs as she pushed, _pushed_, **pushed**, and **_pushed_**.

Spots danced in her eyes, then... emptiness. Relief.

It was _over_.

_It was finally over._

Nothing mattered for the couple but the wails of their newborn son echoing in the cave.

_It's okay… _Minato thought dazedly. All coherent thought was nonexistent.

"Congratulations!" his two medic-nin piped up, cutting through whatever shocked haze he and his wife had.

"It's a healthy baby boy!"

The words tumbled in his head, bouncing around until they made sense, and when they did, the tears flowed with no restraint. "Haha!" Namikaze Minato laughed shakily as he wiped his face, overwhelmed by it all. "Look at me, I'm a dad!"

He gave his wife – _his beautiful, hard-working wife_ – a proud, happy smile, one that clearly told Kushina that her husband was itching to teleport all over Konoha to announce the good news later.

In turn, the new mother couldn't help but be infected by the Hokage's stupid grin, shelving the thought to tell him later that crying made him look more girly.

* * *

As the midwives handled the umbilical cord, the new father looked at his wife and smiled at her for the umpteenth time, prompting Kushina to smile back, her expression shining through her sweat and exhaustion. Minato looked up when Natsume came by the bedside and placed a noisy clothed bundle by Kushina's side.

The new parents stared.

He, Naruto – their _son_ – was… he was...

Minato felt his throat closing again.

He and Kushina... they... _made this?_ They _created a life?_ _This life?_ This _little, precious baby was their _**_own_**?

Minato had no more words as his world was simply condensed onto the existence of the small, wriggling red mass that was wailing its lungs out. How can such a tiny creature make a lot of noise?

"Naruto," Kushina panted, craning her neck to see her son. She was tired beyond exhaustion, but she smiled lovingly nonetheless. "I finally get to meet you."

In response, Naruto – their son, _THEIR SON!_ – gave a small whimper. Kushina cooed happily, her sweat and tears pooling down her face. Her husband looked at her in a new light, awed by how the normally rough, tough Kushina handled their baby boy.

Minato had never seen his Kushina so, _so tender_, even tender than she was with him. He stared, determined to engrave the mother and son's moment to his memories, even as a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill from his eyes –

– but the damn fox in Kushina's belly thrashed, shattering the moment.

Minato scowled, but he knew that the night was still not finished. He still has a job to do.

The blond let one of the medics take his child to clean him up and faced his dear mate, flashing another reassuring smile to his spouse, highly determined to wrap things up. "Okay, Kushina!"

Said woman met his eyes, understanding her husband's aim; she felt the beast within herself, after all.

"I know you're exhausted from the birth, but we've gotta get the Kyuubi completely sealed!"

"Right!" Kushina agreed, pumped with enthusiasm to make up for her fatigue, despite wanting to finally rest and cherish her child. She felt Minato slowly but efficiently pour his chakra, adding stabilizing seals to support the original seal's strength. The Kyuubi predictably lashed out, but as it was located in her mindscape, retaining the roaring monster with her chains was easy, even with her physical weariness. She knitted her brows, concentrating harder when a particular tail managed to –

"Taji! Natsume!"

Hearing Minato's panic, Kushina immediately opened her eyes in the physical world, greeted by the sight of the alarmed Hokage facing something far behind her seat. She craned her neck to look back, discovering a hooded stranger holding her baby boy. Fear began creeping into her veins, and with great trepidation, her eyes flickered downwards. Their ANBU medic-nin were lying on the ground, cerise liquid pooling around their bodies.

"Fourth Hokage… Minato," a chilling voice said, and Kushina tore her eyes from figures on the floor. "Back away from the jinchuuriki." To Kushina's horror, the stranger – _the bastard_ – brandished a kunai and pointed it at her baby. "Or your son dies at the ripe old age of one minute."

Meanwhile, the Yondaime's mind was racing a mile a second, warily observing. _How did he break through the barrier? Who the hell is this guy?_

Unfortunately, sensing that all the petty humans were distracted, the Kyuubi chose that moment to thrash again, ever eager for an opportunity to be free. His container felt the effects, and Kushina hissed painfully as more of the black-inked seals started crawling out. She tried to chain the creature back, but worry and fear affected her morale.

"Kushina!" Minato called out, his voice clearly alarmed, "The seal's not done!" His eyes flitted between his wife and his son, widening more when the stranger dare move his kunai threateningly closer to his son's small chest.

"Back away from the jinchuuriki…" the bastard said smugly, clearly enjoying his moment of superiority. "Or don't you care if your son dies?"

As if sensing the dangerous situation, baby Naruto released a small whimper, his feeble, newborn chakra radiating in distress.

It did no wonders for both of his parents' state of mind. "Hold it! J-just calm down!" Minato held his hands out, trying to appease the stranger, but the bastard was unperturbed.

"You should take your own advice, Minato," he said coolly, his voice collected, proving himself correct. "I'm perfectly calm."

On the other end of the spectrum, after managing to momentarily best her prisoner, Kushina was rattled. She cried out, her voice slicing through the careful tension between her husband and the stranger:

"_NARUTO!"_

The stranger took that moment as the incentive to throw their child – _their blessing, their joy, their little boy _– up into the air. He languidly aimed his kunai towards the bundle as it reached the height of its arc, throwing it in the next second –

– only to be deflected by a frazzled Minato when he teleported to a seal on the adjacent wall, thanking his lucky stars that he had the foresight to litter the whole room with Hiraishin seals beforehand as he grabbed his son, standing on the wall.

"You live up to the 'Yellow Flash' moniker," he heard the stranger observe, "but what now?"

Minato felt a spark of chakra – similar to what explosive seals give off right before exploding – from the bundle on his hand. His eyes flickered down, seeing the seals brighten at his fingertips, and got ready to teleport himself and his child –

"_MINATO! NARUTO!"_

– when he can just teleport the explosion somewhere else.

With a concentrated burst of chakra, Minato deftly deflected the explosion to a Hiraishin seal located just outside the barrier surrounding the hideout as he jumped from the wall. Landing on the floor, cradling his now-bare son, he looked up just in time to see his wife disappear in a vortex.

Minato cursed.

* * *

Kushina was swirling.

The sensation was akin to Minato's Hiraishin, dizzying and exciting, like being swept off your feet, so she knew that she was being teleported. When Minato uses his Hiraishin with her, Kushina always felt giddy and safe, assured that her mate will transport them both soundly, no matter where the destination is.

But _this_, this transversing... it was _nervewracking_.

The chakra controlling the jutsu was filled with _malice. _It was around Kushina, coating her, seeping through her being, wordlessly telling her that she's utterly _powerless_ as she was dragged along for the ride.

She was going to go somewhere frightening without her husband and baby – her love and support – and she can't do a damn thing about it.

Kushina likened it to flushing the toilet; swirling, disgustingly fascinating, and going to who-knows where.

Suddenly, the swirling sensation stopped, and the red-head was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. Used to this mode of transport, Kushina adapted easily, snapping from the customary vertigo that accompanies teleportation mere seconds after landing, although this method was more disorienting due to its spiraling nature. Her vision righted itself, and she soon noticed two feet in front of her. She looked up, glaring venomously, when she noticed the eye staring at her amusedly.

Kushina gasped in surprise. _Sharingan?!_

"Welcome to my realm," the hooded stranger said magnanimously, spreading his arms wide, ignoring her shocked expression. Kushina forcibly tore her eyes from his, scanning the dreary place in agitation, her posture tense, but before she can check her knowledge if she knew the place, she was swirling again.

"Unfortunately, I can't give you a tour of the place. We're a tight schedule, you see," the bastard said airily, his voice wrapping around her. Kushina wanted to punch the bastard and indulge in a thorough bath later.

Receiving no reprieve, Kushina fell again in a heap after the unpleasant sensation, groaning curses. She offhandedly observed that she landed on a rock and proceeded to glare holes into the masked man in front of her. The bastard casually crouched down to her level, reaching a hand towards her. Kushina opened her mouth to tell him to in no certain terms can he touch her again when the Kyuubi thrashed wildly once more, wiping more of the insults she planned to spew from her mind.

Busy battling the Kyuubi in her mindscape, Kushina could do nothing but stare in the physical world as the bastard chained her to other rock outcroppings, propping her tired form up. She was on her knees, positioned like some open turkey ready for stuffing, and Kushina felt her ire rising more from the humiliation (though she was a bit grateful that the bastard did thought of protecting her modesty by wrapping the blanket around her waist, but naturally, she won't admit this to anyone). The Red-Hot Habanero longed to give him a tongue-lashing of a lifetime, but her prisoner kept stealing her focus.

"KEEP _STILL_, DATTEBANE!" Kushina screeched in her mindscape as she tied the Kyuubi back, fueled by rage at how utterly helpless she was at the physical world to help her husband and baby. To make matters worst, her prisoner's struggle wasn't helping anyone.

Irritated beyond measure, Kushina summoned massive spikes of rocks and drove them to its tails for good measure, pinning the creature effectively again as it managed to destroy the previous chains that held it up. The Kyuubi roared in pain and anger as Kushina, satisfied, quickly left her mindscape just in time to witness the hooded stranger executing a set of seals. He was now several meters away from her, standing by the edge of a waterline. Kushina noted the lake and the beginnings of a forest at her periphery, keeping her eyes locked onto the bastard, waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike back.

"W-who are you? What do you want?" she asked warily, gritting her teeth in annoyance at her stutter at the start of her sentence, mentally cursing her physical disadvantage. Her body was tired, but her spirit burned with a vengeance.

"To destroy the Leaf," the bastard replied simply, bypassing her first question. Suddenly, his eye met hers, shining from the lone eyehole of his mask. Kushina was taken aback on the sudden sharp sensation – _intrusion_ – into her skull.

Kushina cursed her fatigue and her unwanted prisoner for causing her to be caught off-guard.

The bastard dare invade her head. _Her mind!_

It was like that one time Mikoto accidentally plunged into her mindscape during a spar, but this time, Kushina felt the bastard's evil intentions as he materialized easily in her mindscape, ensuring that nothing good will come out of this encounter. The Kyuubi felt him too, frozen stiff as it finally registered the stranger's presence. It saw the stranger and immediately thrashed wilder, its customary killing intent mixed with something else the Uzumaki never dreamed it feeling: _fear._

Shocked, Kushina urgently whipped her head from the Fox to the stranger, quickly throwing chains to prevent him any movement. The Kyuubi recognized this person – it **_feared_** this bastard. The Kyuubi **never** feared **_anyone_**, as far as she knew...

_Except –_

An unanticipated force cowed – _cowed!?_ – her down, suppressing her being in her _own mental plane_ as the stranger walked towards the Kyuubi, shrugging off her chains casually. Uzumaki Kushina felt herself being crushed to the ground by an unseen force, restraining her attempts to retaliate. From the floor, she watched with wide eyes as the bastard idly waved a hand, easily shaking off all the heavy chains Kushina spent laboriously creating for the last critical minutes. He waved another hand, cracking some of the rocks pinning the Kyuubi –

– when the bastard was miraculously ripped from her mind.

Kushina blinked, feeling the Kyuubi's chakra starting to creep into her veins and out into the physical world. It was almost too late to chain the Kyuubi back, but Kushina was grateful for the timely interference. Her eyes cleared as she saw her savior, and Kushina's heart soared in hope.

There, standing on the water with their son in his arms, standing strong and ready, was her spouse, her love. _Her_ girly, flaky husband.

Kushina tiredly smiled in relief.

Minato was finally here.

* * *

.

.

* * *

**Author's Notes/Ramblings:**

~ As you can see, **** is about to go down. Oh yes.

~ This was supposed to be a one-chapter thing, but when I was planning it, it felt right to split it into two (when I arrived at a dramatic plot point), so it became a two-chapter thing, but while I was writing it... it felt so _right_, so **_badass_**, to stop it at Minato's arrival. So rejoice, readers! It's gonna be three chapters! :D

~ "Nonetheless, he was sure that his ANBU would do their best , if not for the safety of Konoha, then for the sake of bragging rights, when the issue of his child's birth doesn't have to be a secret anymore."

Kushina being a jinchuuriki is a very important secret, so the ANBU won't talk about that, but the issue of who helped in Naruto's birth is a secret that will probably be okayed by Minato to be spread in ANBU. It happened and the only thing that the issue will tell is _who_ helped, but not why. Grrrr, ANBU peeps can have a bit of fun, yes? Bah, stop analyzing this too much! D:

~ I dunno if Kushina recognized his Cherry Gum or got any clues that this was Madara. I mean, Madara using Kyuubi was in history books, yes?

~ I credit and thank rabidbehemoth for sharing her pregnancy stories with me. Gah, love your parents, people!

* * *

Thank you for subscribing, but please do check my other ItaSaku fic, _Loops_!

~ Lost-chan


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